Scanty road devices cause accidents, traffic jams

LAHORE - Around 60 per cent roads lack road safety devices (RSDs) which is a major cause of accidents, violation of traffic rules and traffic jams at 20 bottlenecks in the City, says a TEPA study report.
The report said the RSDs including variable message signs (VMS), cat eyes, zebra crossings, road markings and road signs such as warning signs (indicating schools and hospitals), mandatory traffic signs, guidance signs and regulatory signs have almost been vanished from the city’s roads. The report further said about Rs 800 million were required to equip all the City roads with the required furnishings.
The report further revealed that TEPA had conducted a survey of the City’s main roads to install 1,500 traffic signboards but the project could not make any progress due to one reason or the other.
“The roads that pose alarming situation include the Canal Bank Road, Ferozepur Road, Wahdat Road, Jail Road, The Mall, MB Garden Town near Barkat Market, Shahrah-e-Jamia Punjab, Shabbir Usmani Road, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road and Multan Road,” the report said.
Due to lack of RSDs, the report said, around 20 bottlenecks on the City roads had become permanent nuisance for the Lahorites resulting in traffic mess for hours on daily basis and disrupting routine life. These bottlenecks in the provincial metropolis have already been mentioned in Master Plan 2021, the report added.